Good service delivery is dead! Long live good service delivery! At least, in the minds of those who can still remember what good service delivery entails. This was the message driven home by the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association at the mock funeral held on Friday, July 11, when a number of “mourners” joined the procession to the parking lot of a chain store in Louis Trichardt.

The funeral was held to draw attention to the fact that service delivery in town had reached rock bottom, with no prospect of any improvement in the foreseeable future. Mr Fanus Viviers, in the role of preacher and spiritual guide, delivered an impressive overview of the illness and demise of the beloved deceased. He pointed out how the virus of incompetence and lack of accountability steadily and stealthily undermined the once-healthy spirit of the town, eventually leading to a total lack of maintenance, serious infrastructural deficits, unhealthy living conditions and a shortage of competent workers with the necessary skills to cope with the demands made by a town in trouble. Outside experts were called in at various times, at great cost, to assist in trying to keep the deceased alive, but to no avail. Aid offered by volunteers, free of charge, was also refused. The general feeling is that of deliberate neglect by those responsible for the deceased’s wellbeing, in favour of their own comfort and monetary gain.